The Metabolism and Health Benefits of Bioactive Compounds in Foods

There is growing evidence that plant-derived bioactives, including polyphenols, carotenoids and organosulfur compounds, may have several health benefits by reducing or delaying the incidence of non-communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disorders and diabetes. Those positive effects are dependent, in the first instance, on the bioavailability, absorption and metabolism of bioactives. In this context, the microbiota play an important role since they transform ingested bioactives that reach the colon into low-molecular-weight phenolic and aromatic metabolites which are absorbed into the circulatory system and, further, are subjected to phase II metabolism by mammalian enzymes, producing metabolites with potential biological activities.

The study of the bioactive metabolites in vivo and the evaluation of their activity against several diseases is challenging, not only because of the diversity of chemical structures and their low and varied concentrations, but also because of the variability in the production of specific metabolites by the population.

This Special Issue welcomes manuscripts on i) the reliable phytochemical characterization of fruit- and vegetable-derived product extracts; ii) in vivo and in vitro studies on the absorption and metabolism of food bioactives using targeted and non-targeted approaches; iii) studies dealing with the potential benefits of the consumption of bioactives using cell-based experiments.

Dr. José Manuel Moreno-Rojas
Dr. Gema Pereira Caro
Dr. Raquel Rodríguez Solana
Guest Editors

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